When volatility prevails in the gold market, I love seeing so many different opinions because it promotes critical thinking and healthy markets. But because gold is unlike any other commodity, many perspectives can be extreme, such as “goldenfreudes” who take pleasure in gold bugs’ pain. I continue to persuade readers to take a balanced and …

Years ago, it was virtually unheard-of for someone to give up his/her U.S. citizenship. Then, one by one, a handful of famous cases surfaced… like Sir John Templeton, who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1964 and moved to the Bahamas. At the time, Templeton was able to save $100 million that he would have otherwise …

A new meme is spreading in financial markets: The Fed is about to turn off the monetary spigot. U.S. Printmaster General Ben Bernanke announced that he might start reducing the monthly debt monetization program called “quantitative easing” (QE) as early as autumn 2013, and maybe stop it entirely by the middle of next year. He …

Many opponents of gun control support the war on drugs, and many critics and reformers of America’s drug laws tend to believe in gun control. Conservatives tend to fall into the first category and liberals into the second. In reality, these two issues are more similar than many people might think. In both cases — …

Dear rest of the world: Please know that it is painful for Americans to see what is happening in the case of Edward Snowden. Here he is flying from Hong Kong to Russia — countries that seem like safe havens from the long reach of the U.S. empire. Where will he end up? Could be …

By the end of the week, 1,700 liberty lovers are expected to stop in at Roger’s Campground in Lancaster, N.H., to see what the Free States Project’s PorcFest is all about. The crowd is openly carrying side arms, rifles, and other weapons, while engaging in all sorts of commerce: accepting dollars, silver, and Bitcoins (leave …

The collective fondness for presidents grows after they leave office for a simple reason. The next occupant of the office is always worse. For instance, George W. Bush’s approval rating is now 49% versus 46% who view him negatively. Absence has certainly made some hearts grow fonder from the post-Katrina, 2008 Wall Street bailout days. …

Where things stood at the close of last week: Dow down 105, gold up $9 an ounce. Nothing worthy of comment, in other words. Those who think the world is warming up should visit Edinburgh. It is a city made of stone. Yellow stone. Brown stone. Almost-black stone. Almost every building is built of stone. …

Perhaps the question is no longer if Obamacare will wreak havoc on the American economy. Instead, the query seems to have morphed into something far more dire and prophetic: Just how much chaos will the law inflict upon the American people, businesses, and the economy? Many wonder, too, if the law will actually improve the …

When NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden wanted to talk to reporter Glenn Greenwald, he insisted that they use encrypted chat. Unfortunately, Greenwald didn’t know how to go about setting that up. In fact, he needed a tutorial in how to do it. Indeed, many people do. I was looking at the download figures of various encryption …

I was in Paris one time, in a park near the Louvre museum, enjoying a lazy summer day. I wasn’t the only one with such a great idea. There were probably a few hundred others enjoying the sunshine — children playing soccer, kissing lovers entwined on the grass, businessmen on a lunch break… You can …

In this age of Obamacare, the writings of Ayn Rand are inspiring some doctors to push back. A small, but growing group of doctors want their patients to pay cash. That’s right, cash. Their own cash. Well, OK, they’ll accept credit cards and debit cards. To get the service requires membership in a practice called …

I just spoke to a friend, Skinner Layne, who is from Arkansas, but now lives in Santiago, Chile. He emigrated there and is now heading a startup enterprise that is showing great promise. It is called Exosphere. I asked him about the backstory to the company. It turns out that he moved in 2008, six …

What a weekend it’s been, like watching a global prizefight of epic proportions, with every conceivable side throwing the hardest possible punches. It began with the first leak in the U.K.’s Guardian, which was echoed in The Washington Post. The specific allegation was that the National Security Administration has obtained “direct access” to all communications …

Like the U.S., many democratic nations are suffering from permanently high unemployment, staggering public debts and budget deficits, and a deep economic recession. Although many people blame politicians for their problems, virtually no one ever considers blaming the democratic system for our woes. If you think about it, however, it’s clear that it’s the collectivist …

It’s second-term scandal season in Washington, D.C. The folks at Fox are eating it up. But over at MSNBC, not so much. First it was Hillary Clinton’s role in Benghazi; then the AP wiretapping; and of course, the IRS looks more evil, stupid, and wasteful with each passing day. More scandals than usual? Hardly. Remember …

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee,” the last president said in a classic George W. Bush gem. “I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.’” Well, you know what he meant. But seriously, though, really; …

There were no cubicles, no executive suites, and no visible hierarchies of power. It was just a large open room with computers and desks, and at each sat a large monitor in the shape of a medieval triptych: a large screen in the middle, flanked by one on each side. “Programmers like to have several …

There are many theories to explain government. Most are nothing but scams, justifications, and puffery. One tries to put something over on the common man… the other claims it was for his own good… and the third pretends that he’d be lost without it. Most are not really “theories” at all… but prescriptions, blueprints for …

Why learn economics? To know economics is to understand how the world works. Multitudes of people know nothing about the subject, and that is very sad. Economics relates to everything we do. Without that understanding, much of the operation of society will remain mysterious. Not only do you want to be the smartest person at …

Woo-hoo! It is a wonderful thing when the good guys win one for a change. Well, it wasn’t a total win, but it gives hope. In a case brought by the Wisconsin state government — with full cooperation from the federal government — a jury refused to convict Amish farmer Vernon Hershberger on all counts …

In the 15th century, the highest standard of living in the world belonged to China. Places like Nanjing had reached the pinnacle of civilization with incredibly modern infrastructure, robust economies, substantial international trade, great health care, and a rising middle class. Across the globe, Europeans were living out short, mud-filled, brutish lives in squalid poverty, …

The dream of virtually every American is to retire as early as possible. Who doesn’t want to have each and every day to do exactly what he or she wants to do? Sure, for some people, that would be work. They like having somewhere to go every day, being valued for their services, and the …

“Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation,” Richard Nixon told his fellow Americans on Aug. 15, 1971. The 37th president had just announced the U.S. would “temporarily” close the gold window — ending the convertibility of dollars into gold that had been key to the postwar Bretton Woods system. What …